JCB Construction Equipment has kicked off the year by landing one of the biggest single orders in its 71-year-history – a US$142 million (A$193 million) deal to supply the United States Army.

The US Army is set to take delivery of more than 1,600 527-58M light-capability rough-terrain forklifts to be used on tasks such as loading and unloading aircraft and shipping containers.

The 527-58M is a modified version of JCB’s Loadall telescopic handler, a machine which celebrates its 40th year in production in 2017.

"This order is fantastic news for JCB and a great way to start the new year," JCB CEO Graeme MacDonald says.

"It is the second-highest-value order in the company’s history, and I congratulate everyone who has worked to secure this valuable contract in the same year that we mark 40 years of telescopic handler production."

At 2m wide and 1.98m high, the military-spec 527-58M is optimised to work in confined spaces.

The 81kW JCB EcoMax Diesel engine gives the telehandler a travel speed of 33km/h. The machine has a maximum lift capacity of more than 2.26 tonnes and a lift height of 5.8m.

The 527-58M has also been waterproofed to meet the operational needs of the armed services during wading and fording.

JCB has a 30-year history of supplying the world’s militaries, with the company providing machines to armed forces in countries including Australia, the UK and Germany.

"We are proud that the US Army has once again chosen JCB," JCB North America CEO Arjun Mirdha says.

"Over the past three decades, JCB has supplied more than 4,000 machines to armed forces in 57 countries, and we have acquired a deep understanding of how the Army uses equipment and the unique features needed."

The largest single deal in JCB’s history also came from the US Army in 2005 when a US$206 million order was placed to produce hundreds of high-speed military versions of JCB’s backhoe loader, called the High Mobility Engineer Excavator.